Lucky Foods for the New Year 🍀🧧🤞😉

Happy New Year, everyone! I wanted to have a little fun with this blog, so I am sharing some 🍀lucky foods🍀 to bring in the New Year. 

Enjoy!

Black Eyed Peas

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@jasmine_waheed

Because black eyed peas resemble coins, they are believed to bring prosperity. To ensure extra luck, some people add corn kernels because they look like golden nuggets. This is a tradition in the south which demonstrates frugality and promotes prosperity in the new year.

Buttered Bread

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@rodolfomarques

New Years Day in Ireland is also known as “Day of the Buttered Bread.” Tradition says buttered bread placed outside the door symbolizes an absence of hunger in the household for the year to come. I will be serving this one for sure. Who doesn't love the simplicity of delicious, hearty bread and butter?

Raisins

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Tradition in Spain says 12 grapes or raisins eaten before midnight (one at each chime of the clock) will bring good luck for all 12 months of the coming year. Provided you finish all 12 before the stroke of midnight, you will be all set.

Greens

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Because of their bright green color, hearty greens like kale, spinach, and collards resemble money. Belief has it, the more you eat, the more prosperous you’ll be (and healthier, too). Greens will be served in my home, for sure!

Pigs

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@fraumuksch

In some countries, (including Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Austria), pigs symbolize progress. Some say it’s because these animals never move backward. In my book, foods shaped like pigs (chocolate figurines, perhaps) count, too. This vegetarian girl will pass on the real thing!

Unbroken Noodles

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Signifying longevity in Asian culture, a stir-fry of unbroken noodles is a tradition believed to bring good health and luck in the New Year. Anyone who can eat at least one long noodle without chewing or breaking it is said to enjoy the longest life and best luck of all! In China, Japan and other Asian countries, it’s customary to eat long noodles, signifying longevity.

Lentils

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As lentils resemble tiny coins, the custom of enjoying lentils in the New Year is a common Italian tradition said to bring wealth. Going deeper into the myth, when cooked, lentils plump with water, symbolizing growing wealth. Lentils are also considered good luck in Hungary, where they’re preferred in soup.

Cornbread

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Golden yellow and delicious, cornbread is especially popular in the South. Because its color is similar to that of gold, this bread is enjoyed by those hopeful for a prosperous year. A favorite throughout the year, cornbread is especially served as a New Year’s treat. it's fun and easy to make, and delicious too.

Clementines

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Round fruits, such as clementines, are enjoyed on New Year’s Day as their shape signifies the old year has come to a close, and the coming days hold the promise of a fresh start. Clementines resemble coins and symbolize wealth. This is something I will be adding - I love the flavor and the bright, gorgeous orange color.

Whole Fish

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@gregor_moser

In Chinese culture, serving fish whole (both head and tail intact) symbolizes prosperity, abundance, and a good year to come (from start to finish). According to Doris Lum, a Chinese cuisine expert, the Chinese word for “fish” sounds like the word for “abundance,” one of the many reasons fish has become a go-to good luck food.

I am wishing you a prosperous, healthy and happy new year, to bring you all the joy, adventure and love your heart can possibly carry. ❤️‍🩹😍💪

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